Things that my parents forgot to teach me:

1. You are stronger than you realise
2. You are also crueller than you realise
3. The smallest words will break your heart
4. You will change. You’re not the same person you were three years ago. You’re not even the same person you were three minutes ago and that’s okay. Especially if you don’t like the person you were three minutes ago
5. People come and go. Some are cigarette breaks, others are forest fires
6. You won’t like your name until you hear someone say it in their sleep
7. You’ll forget your email password but ten years from now you’ll still remember the number of steps up to his flat
8. You don’t have to open the curtains if you don’t want to
9. Never stop yourself texting someone. If you love them at 4 a.m., tell them. If you still love them at 9.30 a.m., tell them again
10. Make sure you have a safe place. Whether it’s the kitchen floor or the Travel section of a bookshop, just make sure you have a safe place
11. You will be scared of all kinds of things, of spiders and clowns and eating alone, but your biggest fear will be that people will see you the way you see yourself
12. Sometimes, looking at someone will be like looking into the sun. Sometimes someone will look at you like you are the sun. Wait for it
13. You will learn how to sleep alone, how to avoid the cold corners but still fill a bed
14. Always be friends with the broken people. They know how to survive
15. You can love someone and hate them, all at once. You can miss them so much you ache but still ignore your phone when they call
16. You are good at something, whether it’s making someone laugh or remembering their birthday. Don’t ever let anyone tell you that these things don’t matter
17. You will always be hungry for love. Always. Even when someone is asleep next to you you’ll envy the pillow touching their cheek and the sheet hiding their skin
18. Loneliness is nothing to do with how many people are around you but how many of them understand you
19. People say I love you all the time. Even when they say, ‘Why didn’t you call me back?’ or ‘He’s an asshole.’ Make sure you’re listening
20. You will be okay
21. You will be okay.